The invention relates to a container for transporting and storing goods, the container including a container base and at least two side walls that can be folded on top of one another according to the preamble of patent claim 1.
Foldable containers are well known in the art. Folding containers of this type typically include a container base with a rectangular plan view, wherein the foldable side walls are linked at the edges of the base through hinges, wherein the hinges are linked through hinge bolts in hinge receivers, this means the hinges are rotatably supported.
In a folded up position of the side walls, the side walls are connected to one another through a snap lock connection, which can also be disengaged again in order to fold up the containers e.g. for empty transportation, which, however, is not mandatory.
For many folding containers the side walls are configured higher than half the width of the container base, so that the side walls overlap when two side walls disposed opposite to one another are folded towards one another. A container is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,717 B1 in which the folded over side wall can be brought into two end positions, thus a lower end position in which the folded over side wall contacts the container base flush, and an upper end position in which the side wall contacts the opposite folded over side wall in a location which is offset in upward direction relative to the upper end position in a direction perpendicular from the container base in a parallel manner. The side wall can be erected from the upper end position. U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,717 B1 provides a hinge bolt receiver for this purpose which extends upward from the container base and is shaped as an arcuate slotted hole, wherein the hinge bolt is freely moveable in the hinge bolt receiver in the slotted hole when the sidewall is folded down.
It is disadvantageous for those foldable containers that the folded down side wall initially has to be lifted from its lower end position into its upper end position, in which the rotation for erecting the side wall can then be performed. When it is accidentally attempted to erect the side wall starting from its lower end position, a jamming of the hinge bolt can occur in the hinge bolt receiver, which can lead to damaging the container.